diamondminerstudiosfandomcom-20200216-history
User blog:Pinkguy the b0ss/Portal 2 Review
What's up my Shreks, it's me DiamondMinerStudios once again. Today I'm going to review one of my favorite PC games - Portal 2. I don't have any development history to speak of, so let's jump right into the review. Story Most of the games I've reviewed have decent enough story presentation that I give a pass on. Portal 2, on the other hand, is the first game I'm reviewing in one of these posts to have a rather strong story. I'll give a basic summary. This game's story takes place some time after the first game's (which, by the way, I'll probably get to later). Inside the Aperture Science Center, the main character - a mute woman named Chell - is woken up from hypersleep by a spherical robot named Wheatley. They attempt to escape from the facilities, accidentally reactivating GLaDOS, an evil artificial intelligence who was "killed" in the last game. She immedietely puts Chell into a variety of puzzles, known as "tests," with Wheatley planning an escape all the while. Eventually, Wheatley and Chell escape. They then make it down to the turret and neurotoxin production facilities, which they shut down. They then make their way back to GLaDOS, who attempts to kill Chell with turrets and neurotoxin, but since they got shut off, well... you know. Chell then replaces GLaDOS' head with Wheatley's, and he calls an exit lift. Suddenly, he has a face-heel turn and knocks Chell and GLaDOS (who is now in a potato) down a massive pit to the bottom of Aperture. It turns out, the place has been open since the 1950s, run by a man named Cave Johnson who speaks through prerecorded messages. After making it through the 1950s section, Chell meets up with GLaDOS, and in the 1970s area, GLaDOS recognizes Cave Johnson's voice. Progressing through the 1970s and 1980s parts, GLaDOS slowly realizes that she was Cave Johnson's loyal assitant, Caroline, who appeared in a few of the messages. Caroline was uploaded to a computer, and became GLaDOS. Making their way to the surface, she agrees to help Chell defeat Wheatley. When they make it back up to the modern area, Wheatley has neglected an imminent reactor core meltdown, leading to a general instability in the whole facility. He puts Chell and GLaDOS through several tests, slowly becoming more angry that watching Chell solve the tests doesn't give him any satisfaction like it should. Eventually, he surprises Chell with a death trap, which ends up failing. Chell then makes her way to Wheatley's lair, and using corrupted personality cores (spherical robots, Wheatley is one of them himself), corrupts Wheatley. Chell then attempts a core swap, but a button she needs to press explodes, incapacitating her. Suddenly, a roof panel falls, revealing a view of the sky with the moon visible. Chell fires a portal at the moon (as moon rocks are a good conductor of portals), which causes Wheatley to be sucked into space along with the personality cores. GLaDOS rescues Chell, and restores her to good health. Some time later, Chell wakes up, and GLaDOS talks about how she has a new perspective after discovering her true identity. She no longer feels the need for human testing, so she releases Chell, instead opting for robot testing. On her way out, the turrets sing opera for her as a final goodbye. Once she reaches the surface, Chell steps out of the elevator (which was inside a small shed) and into a wide, open field of wheat. However, before she does anything, a banging noise is heard, and from out of the shed pops the charred Companion Cube from the first game, which GLaDOS made Chell drop into an incinerator. With that, the screen cuts to black, and the credits roll. I think this story works very well. One thing that really adds to its effectiveness is the tone and writing. This game has some pretty phenomenal writing and voice acting. The game may be dark and treacherous, but the dialogue is full of jokes and never takes itself too seriously. The voice actors also did an excellent job as well, especially Stephen Merchant as Wheatley and J.K. Simmons as Cave Johnson, who absolutely steal the show when they appear. This game also has one of the greatest moments in gaming history in it - Cave Johnson's Lemon Rant, which is a marvel in how over-the-top and ridiculous it is. Hell, even the game's environment isn't serious, with jokes plastered all over the place. It's that trademark Valve style of comedy, which never fails to make me chuckle. ...Well there is gameplay in this game, so let's discuss that. Gameplay This game is a puzzle-platformer, asking you to solve a wide variety of puzzles to get to an exit door. Aiding you in doing so is your Portal Gun, which like F.L.U.D.D. from Super Mario Sunshine, is your main means of interacting with the game's environment. The gun shoots a blue and orange portal, and only one of each color can be open at once. You can also only make portals on white surfaces. This leads to some incredibly creative and interesting level design. In addition, the setpieces make the game even more creative. Such setpieces include large buttons which open doors, solid light bridges, lazers, cubes which can deflect lazers, turrets, tractor beams, bounce pads, and three different kinds of gel - a blue kind which acts as a bounce pad, an orange kind which lets you embrace your inner Sonic and run really fast, and a white type which makes non-portal surfaces into portal ones. All of these make Portal 2 one of the most ambitious games of its time. Portal 1 may have served as a template, but Portal 2 takes its ideas and fleshes them out more, leading to a more complete experience. Difficulty The game's difficulty balancing is very accessible. For one, you have infinite lives and continues, so you don't have to worry about game overs. There's also a save feature, so that just solidifies this. Most of this game's difficulty does involve some trial-and-error, but that's to be expected due to the game's puzzle nature. The good thing is that the game has a very smooth difficulty curve, starting off simple but getting gradually more complex and challenging as you progress. Some of the later puzzles are actually quite complex, and require you to really think about the solution. All of these make Portal 2 one of the most fair games I've played. Fun fact - I actually beat this game today without dying once, solving every puzzle on my first try. In four hours. After not playing the game for a year or so. Not to brag or anything, just thought it was interesting. Soundtrack Portal 2 has a decent soundtrack. The music mostly has a sort of grungy techno or industrial feel, which fits well with the art direction. In addition, the credits theme is GLaDOS singing a catchy song, which is a nice way to end the game off. The game also has a full score, with music cues playing when doing certain things, such as using a bounce pad. However, I find the soundtrack to be overall somewhat forgettable. Like Donkey Kong Country 3, though, that does not mean I dislike the soundtrack, I just don't remember many of the tracks. Graphics For a 2011 PC game, Portal 2 doesn't look too shabby. The industrial themed setting is very detailed and impressive-looking. The 1080p resolution also helps. I did notice glitchy lighting on occasion, but this could be my graphics card. Despite that, though, Portal 2 still looks great to this day. Conclusion Overall, Portal 2 is a great game and one which every Steam user or fan of puzzle-platformers should have. If you haven't done it already, by all means, play this game. So, that's my first ever review of a PC game done. If any of you arrogant PC-only elitists had ever thought I'm some Console-only peasant, think again, because I like both Console and PC gaming a lot! GET MEMED BOI ...Ahem. Anyways, that's the end of the review. Thanks for reading, and see you in the next post. Category:Blog posts